Lovefool
by Letizia Evans
Summary: Tony and Loki had grown up together, they were inseparable and there was no way for one to exist without the other. Until Tony had to travel across the world and leave Loki behind. Ten years passed and now they're back in the same country, they both want to remain friends but the future has prepared for them a lot more.
1. Prologue

"Loki... Loki, please open the door..." Thor kept knocking and nocking Loki's door but the raven-haired didn't move from where he was, big tears falling from his eyes "Loki, I'm so sorry..." Loki hid his face in his arms and bit his lip to keep himself from sobbing.

"Loki..." the raven-haired jumped and looked up to see his best friend climbing through his window, his dark hair was messy and his brown eyes also had traces of tears.

"Tony" said Loki, in a choked voice and stood to move against him, crying in each other's arms "They can't do it, you cann't leave, Tone, you can't leave me here" Loki sobbed, his voice breaking several times. Thor had stopped knocking, listening to the noise inside, he knew that only Tony could take him out.

"I have no choice, Loki, Dad already did all the paperwork, he got a school and all... I'm so sorry" the raven-haired closed his eyes tightly, dropping more tears.

"They can't separate us this way, Tony!"

"I know, I know, I'm so sorry..." the brown-haired whispered, resting his forehead on the raven-haired "But that doesn't mean will never speak again, Loki, we'll call each other and we'll send letters and... and we'll never be really far" Loki bit his lip.

"You promise, Tony? You promise we'll never lose contact? What we'll be friends forever?"

"Of course I promise, Lokes, I'll never stop being your friend" the raven-haired stared at him, seeing the sincerity reflected in the brown eyes and nodded.

"I believe you, Tony, I will always believe you"

* * *

"I've brought you something to eat" Thor said, entering his brother's room with a tray. The raven-haird tried to smile but it came out only a half-hearted gesture. It brokes Thor's heart to see him like that, Loki was too young to have a broken heart but at his thirteen years, his brother was more mature than most, even him that was four years older. Tony had left two weeks ago, and although the boys talked every day, sometimes three times, that didn't seem to be enough for him, Loki had taken refuge in his room all the time and as his mother knew by Mary Stark, Tony wasn't much better.

"Thank you, Thor" Loki whispered, trying to form in himself the desire to eat.

"Loki... you know that I know how much you caer about Anthony and how much he means to you but... I worry, Loki" he said, and Loki could see in the blue eyes how worried his brother was.

"I'm sorry, Thor, I didn't wanted to worry you" he said quietly.

"Not that you don't want to worry me, Loki, I will always worry about you, you're my younger brother" he said with a slight smile. Loki sighed.

"It's just that... Tony was always there, since forever, we grew up together, he's the only friend I have that I can really trust and... I feel that, in one way or another, I'm losing that" he admitted in a low voice, his eyes filling with tears.

"You and Anthony are connected in such a special way, Loki, that is impossible for a bond like yours to be broken by something as common as the distance. Listen, Loki, and believe me, Tony and you may be separated for many years but what binds you in the heart, no one will ever break" Loki felt a warmth in his chest by the words of his brother and hugged him.

"Thank you, Thor" the blond smiled sweetly, his eyes bursting with adoration for his little brother.

"Whenever you need me, I'll be here for you, Loki" the raven-haired nodded.

* * *

Tony walked the streets of Londres, the rain would begin to fall at any moment (if he could be guided by the dark clouds that hung over his head) and he had to find some place to take refuge. The brown-haired spotted a small café and ran towards it as the first drops began to fall, Tony shook his coat and sat down at a table, ordering a coffee and a small dessert. His mother always got mad at him for drinking coffee, she said that he was too young to be taking that but Tony adored it, he liked the bitter taste in his throat and it make him laugh that his father supported him, keeping him a cup of coffee in his workshop so his mother wouldn't caught him. Tony sighed as he took a sip, watching the drops fall against the window. It had been a month since he left New York and he missed it every day, he missed Loki specifically, the streets seemed a little sad without the presence of his friend, each time he felt that these phone calls were more inadequate and at times depression makes him wonder whether it would be better to cut all communication and start a new life. But he would never break the promise he made to Loki, he knew he just had to finish school to return and he would do anything to achieve that, he needed to go back and be there, the pain he had in his chest since he left his friend at the airport hadn't faded but Tony was too young to understand these feelings, he knew that there was something special that bound him to Loki.

"Tony?" the brown-haired jumped, turning. A boy with brown hair and shy appearance greeted him, approaching.

"Oh, Bruce" he waved. Bruce was the only friend that Tony had made since arriving here, the guy was retracted, very smart and a comfortable company, he was never going to be able to take Loki's place but Tony was beginning to think that he was ok as a friend.

"Hiding from the rain?" he said with a hint of fun.

"Got me" replied the dark-haired, smiling. Both engaged in a simple conversation and Tony was feeling more comfortable, the pain hadn't left but it had softened a bit, he might be able to support a life here.

Perhaps.


	2. Ten years

Loki took off his jacket and laid it on his bed, letting out a heavy sigh. A small meow caught his atention and a smile formed on his face as he took his little cat in his arms and looked at his bright blue eyes.

"Did you miss me, Sousuke?" he asked fondly, playing with his ears and taking him with him to the kitchen. Loki let the cat on the counter and poured some milk on his plate, leaving him to drink while putting the kettle on. The phone rang and Loki took it, smiling slightly when he saw who it was "Thor, we haven't been apart for one hour and you're calling me already?"

"What I can do, brother? You are the light of my life" the man joked and Loki chuckled.

"Tell me what happnes, fool" he replied, turning off the boiling water and making tea.

"Tomorrow is the Charity Party given by Natasha's company, she asked me to remind you"

"Why didn't she call me?"

"She had too many last minute things to do, I just found her by accident" Loki sighed.

"And you think that I can finally meet the mysterious man she wants to introduce me to for weeks?"

"Maybe, and just maybe, she has told me he will be there that night" Loki smiled, shaking his head. Her friend loved playing cupid and had to admit she had good choices.

"And Jane?"

"What about Jane?" Loki tried not to roll his eyes.

"Thor, don't be absurd, at some point I have to know her or is it that you're afraid that I would scare her?"

"Like the other five? No, brother, not at all"

"Oh, Amora and Lorelei deserved it and I don't know how you could think on involving with twins, they were identically annoying" Loki grumbled.

"An Sif too?"

"Of course! He liked to glare at me"

"And Sigyn?"

"She was in love with me"

"And Idunn?"

"She was in love with Balder" he replied, now rolling his eyes, Thor sighed.

"Why am I not surprised that you have an answer for everything?"

"Why am I not surprised you have a question for everything?" Thor chuckled and Loki smiled.

"You're a piece of work, but I adore you, Loki"

"And I, too" he replied. Loki stayed talking with Thor a little more before hanging up and take Sousuke to the room, he had had a long day at work and he just wanted to rest. The raven-haired grabbed his cell phone and checked his mail before going to bed, his gaze stayed for a second in an old e-mail, from almost two years ago and he turned it off before his mind wandered to places he really didn't want. Loki fell into his bed and was asleep in seconds, his mind completely blank.

* * *

Loki put a finger to his lips, he was considering buying the shirt he should wear tonight. Black or green? Black always emphasized how pale his skin was and it matched amazingly with his hair, but the green one highlighted his green eyes and make them incredibly compelling. Loki wanted to look good tonight, Natasha said that she knew the perfect man for him, then he to believe her, because her friend never failed, she had introduced Jane and Thor and by what he heard, they were perfect for each other, today he would also meet to her.

"Green'd look fine" said a voice behind him and Loki turned, surprised. The man was tall, blond, with blue eyes, his face was attractive and he had a friendly smile that made him relax.

"Your think?" he asked, tilting his head slightly.

"I'm sure" he replied and Loki extended his hand.

"I'm Loki"

"Steve" he replied, shaking his hand.

"Well, Steve, I'm glad you're here to give me fashion advice, right?" Loki said playfully and Steve chuckled.

"Oh, no, I lose myself with this stuff but I feel that green would look great on you"Loki bit slightly his lip, trying to hide his smile.

"Maybe you're right. What have you come to buy?"

"A new suit, I have an important meeting" he said with a sigh, Loki scanned the costumes that were on his hand and shook his head.

"Those colors aren't for you, you should try... this" he said, extending a dark blue suit, with a light blue shirt and Loki was sure it would look amazing on him.

"Now who gives fashion advice?" said Steve with a smile and Loki shrugged, smiling.

"It happens that I'm also sure that it would look great on you" he replied. Loki's cell phone rang at that moment and he checked it, letting out a sigh "I must go now, it was a pleasure to meet you, Steve"

"The pleasure was all mine, Loki... Maybe we could go out for coffee one of these days" Loki smiled.

"I'd be delighted" replied the raven-haired, giving him his number and going to pay his shirt, going away after a moment. Clint was waiting in the cafeteria and Loki hugged him enthusiastically "I missed you! You have to tell me all about your trip, how did it go in Russia?"

"Very well" smiled Clint "I close the contract we wanted and I won't tell Nat until tonight, I want to surprise her"

"She'll be very happy, she's been pretty stressed out with this contract with a new company I'm not sure what it is"

"Me neither, she has remained somewhat mysterious with this one" Clint said, frowning slightly then smiled "Did she introduced you to Mr. Perfect already?" Loki laughed.

"No, and I'm not so sure I want to" Clint raised an eyebrow and Loki told him about Steve.

"Well, you can always see which is better then, you know, a taste of each"

"Clint!" cried Loki and they both laughed.

* * *

The party was perfect, the decoration, food, music, Natasha had actually make this great. The redhead was wrapped in a red Zuhair Murad that highlighted everything from her, it was like a glove.

"Loki" the girl smiled, hugging him briefly.

"Natasha, the party is excellent, I must congratulate you" she laughed.

"Yes, it was worth all the sleep I lost" she said proudly, Clint walked over with Thor and a small woman with brown hair and friendly face.

"Jane, I want you to meet Loki, my brother. Loki, she is Jane Foster" Loki smiled at the girl and extended his hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you" he said pleasantly, she smiled brightly.

"Me too, Thor adores you, he always talks about you. I was nervous to meet you" Loki laughed.

"According Thor I'm a terror, but you, Jane, look perfect for him" the girl blushed and Thor smiled gratefully to his brother, Loki winked and apologized, going to pour a glass.

"Loki" Natasha and beside he she had nothing more and nothing less than Steve, who looked as surprised as he "I introduce you to Steve Rogers, representative of SHIELD Inc. Steve, he's Loki Laufeyson, VP of Odinson Corp" Loki looked at Steve and then they started laughing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again, Loki"

"I can say the same thing, Steve"

"Do you know each other?" Natasha asked, raising her eyebrows.

"We had a meeting today as we were shopping" Steve replied, his blue eyes fixed on Loki.

"Looks like your efforts of Cupid won't be in need this time" Loki said, smiling at Steve.

"Ah, no?" Redhead's smile was knowing.

"Of course, after all, Loki and I already have a dae for a coffee, right?" Loki nodded and almost rolled his eyes, he could see Natasha vibrating with excitement.

"So... I'll leave you to get to know each other a little more" she said and disappeared, Steve ordered a drink and smiled.

"She's not very subtle, right?"

"No, she's not" they both laughed softly.

"Then, Loki how is the life of a vice president?"

"It's surprisingly easy, Thor is currently the president and we make an excellent team. What can you tell me of SHIELD?"

"I'm the head of the Public Relations area and together with my best friend, James, we do the impossible, possible" Loki smiled.

"That sounds very interesting, maybe you can give me some classes of the "impossible-possible" later" Loki knew his smile was flirtatious, but he didn't care one bit.

"That's good for me" Steve replied and Loki bit his lip.

"Can I have a glass of champagne?" asked a voice behind them to the bartender, Loki thought it sounded familiar but he wasn't sure from where so he ignored it, looking at Steve.

"Would you like to dance?" asked the blond and Loki smiled.

"Of..."

"Put it in the name of Stark, okay?" Loki froze in mid-sentence, his brain going into a short circuit for a second. The raven-haired turned in an instant and looked at the man standing there, his face was handsome and charismatic, his dark hair was slicked back, leaving his free face, it was the face of a stranger but those eyes, those bright brown eyes told Loki exactly who he was and his heart raced.

"... Tony?"


	3. London

The streets of London were wet (as usual) and Tony grumbled, covering with his hood and glared at the sky, of all days, just today it had to rain and he hadn't brought his umbrella. Tony walked hurriedly and entered the building, shaking his jacket to dry it a bit and running a hand through his hair. Tony got into the elevator and waited patiently as he climbed to the 10th floor of the building, then entered his home, breathing a sigh of relief.

"I'm here"

"Welcome back" said a female voice and he smiled when Pepper left the kitchen, wearing an adorable pink apron "How was your day? Did you solved everything?" she asked as he let a soft kiss on her lips, Tony sighed against her lips and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Yes, the signing of the contract will be there and I already have enabled the penthouse where we will be staying"

"I'm glad, because I have the the suitcases ready. When do we go?"

"Friday night, I have to finish fixing a few things here before" Pepper nodded, Tony smiled gently "How was your day?"

"Fairly productive, I closed two projects, I fixed all the issues and even got here in time to make the dinner" she ended with a laugh "I am excited to go to New York, I've never been there"

"Of all the times we have traveled, I can't believe you've never been there" Tony joked.

"Well, you haven't been there in ten years, is not so hard to believe" the brown-haired slightly stiffened at the mention of the time he had spent away from where he grew up but he easily smiled and took her hand.

"It will be lovely to be there with you, fiancée" he said sweetly, placing a kiss on the engagement ring.

"Of course it will, fiancé" she replied "Now you have to eat!"

* * *

"It's amazing to meet him in person, Mr. Stark" said Natasha Romanov, shaking his hand.

"And you, Miss. Romanov. She is Pepper Potts, my right hand and fiancée" he presented and the blonde smiled, shaking hands with the redhead.

"It's a pleasure, please call me Natasha"

"Then we're just Pepper and Tony. I've heard enough of your work, Natasha, I also saw the outline of the project you sent, I must say I'm impressed"

"I know the area of your business goes into the technology and not architecture but this project combines both and I think we can do good business" Tony grinned.

"Then let's move on to the boardroom to talk more comfortably"

* * *

Tony was used to big parties, since he was fifteen his father had taught him how to move between high society, whispering secrets about famous and wealthy people, telling who was worth investing and who is not. Howard had been a great father, he taught Tony everything he knew and he'd always been thankful for that, it hurt to loss him when he had that accident but he was nothing if not a fighter, the best way to honor the memory of his father was put to good use all his teachings.

"I feel that everyone sees me weird because of my accent" Pepper muttered beside him.

"To me they seem to love your accent, there aren't many English people in here, especially one as beautiful" Pepper smiled and put a hand on his cheek.

"You're flattering"

"Nothing more than what you deserve, dear" he whispered, kissing her hand "More champagne?" Tony asked and she nodded, and he walked toward the bar "Can I have a glass of champagne?" the barman nodded, serving the drink in a high cup "Put it in the name of Stark, okay?"

"... Tony?" the brown-haired turned and stopped, the man next to him was tall, his slim body was dressed in a black suit with a dark green shirt that matched his eyes, his black hair was short and combed to the side, leaving his porcelain face free. Tony didn't needed to think, he knew who he was.

"Loki?" they observed each other, remaining completely frozen.

"Everything all right?" Interrupted a gentle voice, a blue-eyed blond man.

"Yes... yes, Steve" Loki whispered, still staring Tony "When did you came back?"

"A few days ago" Tony replied quietly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" the brown-haired bit his lip.

"I didn't know if there was a reason" he admited, shrugging and turning his gaze "It's been awhile..."

"You thought I wouldn't want to see you? Did you think I wouldn't want to hear from you just because you disappeared for two years without a word?" Tony shifted uncomfortably under the intense gaze of Loki "Will you tell why you did it?"

"Loki..."

"Tony, is all okay?" the brown-haired turned and sighed when he saw his fiancé, feeling more relaxed.

"Yes, of course. Eh... he's Loki Laufeyson" he introduced, Pepper's eyes widened slightly, looking at Tony, he knew what she was thinking but he didn't want to talk about it.

"Pepper Potts is a pleasure to meet you" the blonde presented herself, shaking the somewhat dazed raven-haired's hand and he just nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Pepper Is my fiancée" Loki's eyes returned to stared at him.

"Congratulations" he said mechanically. The four were silent, making the moment awkward and Tony cleared his throat.

"Well, it was great to find you but we should circulate on the party. See you later" Tony left rapidly and took Pepper out of ther, without giving Loki a chance to say anything.

"...Are you okay?" asked Steve doubtfully, looking at the paralyzed raven-haired.

"... I don't know" he whispered.

* * *

"That was surprising" Pepper said later, when they were back in the pent-house "Are you okay?" Tony shrugged without answering, dropping into the sofa "... you wanna talk about it?"

"What is there to say?" Tony replied, staring at the ceiling. Pepper watched him a few seconds and sighed, rising and approaching him, she knew that when Tony closed in himself, it would take a long time to talk with him and she only gave him a kiss on the cheek, stroking his hair.

"Don't go to bed very late, okay?" Tony nodded absently and she left. Tony got up from the couch and walked over to the bookshelf, picking one book in particular, "The Little Prince", Loki had send it almost three years ago for his birthday. Tony opened it carefully and took the picture that was inside, looking at the smiling faces of the two children.

"... Loki" he whispered, looking at his friend's face, his brown eyes sad.

* * *

"So you were friends?" Loki nodded, taking a sip of the coffee he had in his hands "Wow... what happened?"

"I have no idea" Loki sighed, looking outside. They were in his apartment, sitting in the window more specifically, facing the park. This department had been a gift from his mother, it was beautiful and just in front of Central Park, Loki loved to sit on the edge of the large window and look at the park, enjoying the scenery "We used to talk every day by phone, for six years we never stopped talking and suddenly... puff, Tony never returned my calls or answer my messages or my emails... I never knew what I did wrong" he whispered the last part and Steve looked at him.

"I don't think that was your fault, Loki, if you say that it was he who broke the connection, then the problem must have been his" Loki shrugged.

"I think I'll never know" he answered and he was slightly surprised when Steve put his arm around his shoulders, his blue eyes bright.

"He's here now, I'm sure you will have opportunities to talk, maybe it was all a big misunderstanding" he said hopefully, smiling. Loki smiled and relaxed into his touch.

"You're right" said the raven-haired "I' sorry for this, I think is not the coffee date we thought"

"Well, we had coffee and good conversation, I would say it has been a great date" the blond smiled Loki chuckled.

"Thank you for being here" he said, Steve nodded, strengthening his grip a little.

"You're welcome" Loki bit his lip, both reentered shortly after and the raven-haired accompanied him to the door, leaning on it as they said goodbye "What do you say if we better try dinner? Tomorrow night?" Loki smiled.

"Perfect" he nodded, Steve approached and placed a lingering kiss on his cheek, smiling when he saw Loki blushed, then he left. Loki closed the door and leaned against it, a smile hovering on his face.


End file.
